Lately

A lot has happened since I last posted (including Blogger's new look, apparently!).

My grandmother got sick.

I enjoyed my friend Jennifer's baby shower and my friend Ashley's play. 

I went to MS to visit Gradnma.

She was sent to hospice.

I came back home.

She passed away. On Easter. Garrett's car also broke down.

Went back to MS for the funeral.

Garrett hydroplaned on the way to work and totaled his car. (I'm still thanking God that he was OK.)

We celebrated my aunt's birthday.

Colton Dixon was very prematurely kicked off American Idol (and that's not just my opinion, almost everyone was expecting him to be in the finale).

Got to attend the Collage reception for the first time as a submitter of the magazine as opposed to a staff member. 

For the first time ever, Garrett and I went car shopping by ourselves and bought a car by ourselves. It was actually more intimidating to us than buying our house!

I have been experiencing such mixed emotions over the past several weeks due to all these circumstances. Sadness, pain, joy, fear, relief, thankfulness. A lot of thankfulness. Thankful for a job where they were so understanding when I took a week and three days off. Thankful for a job period, even without benefits. Thankful to know where my grandma is and that I had the chance to say goodbye. Thankful that my husband was safe. Thankful that we could afford a reliable car to replace the less than reliable one. Thankful that God has blessed me way more than I deserve, considering how elusive I have been with Him.

I have also spent my time sucked into the usual black hole of Pinterest, somewhat of Hunger Games blogs (though I am weaning myself from them for the most part now), as well as The Maze Runner trilogy. I wouldn't really recommend it though. I found it largely unsatisfying. The relationships between characters is generally my favorite part of any story and I did not feel this was this author's strong suite. But that's not the only reason I was unsatisfied. Now I am finally trying to get back into writing my own novella that I started back in November, which started as a short story, turned into a noveletta, and now a novella.

Despite my attempts to start a new blog, despite my desire to work on my fiction, my interest in blogging has seriously decreased over the last several months. I think I need to step away from it for at least a few months, have a chance to decide how I want to pursue my writing, now that my life is seemingly slowing down to a more normal pace. I have been avoiding this post for at least a week and maybe longer, but I have decided to call for a hiatus. I don't know if it'll be for a month or six or a year, and I don't know if I'll return to this blog or will have a new one, but I will let those of you that I know follow know when all that is decided. Thanks for those of you who have stuck it out all this time.